India reaches out to Taliban in Afghanistan
The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday confirmed that an Indian delegation, led by Mr J P Singh, Joint Secretary (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran Division) in the ministry, is on a visit to Afghanistan.
At least 100 shops and 20 houses were set ablaze by Taliban militants in Andkhoy district of Afghanistan’s northern Faryab province, officials said.
Fighting between government forces and the Taliban erupted in the restive district on 23 June and the militants seized it the next day.
However, the militants evacuated the district on 25 June after heavy fighting where 25 insurgents were killed, provincial police spokesman Mohammad Karim Yurash said on Sunday.
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“The Taliban militants fled leaving 25 bodies behind. But before escaping they torched up to 100 shops including those selling carpets, grocery and vegetables. The militants also set ablaze 20 houses in the district,” Yurash said.
Confirming the incident, another provincial official Nasir Ahmad Azimi asserted that the ongoing war and the recent clashes have hugely damaged the local economy as many shops and houses had been destroyed.
Another member of the provincial council, Abdul Ahad Elbik said that the fighting had inflicted heavy property losses on the people and fighting is still continue in parts of the restive district.
Andkhoy is a port district of Faryab province, which connects the war-torn Afghanistan to Turkmenistan.
Taliban militants have captured more than 70 districts since the start of the withdrawal of the US-led forces from Afghanistan on 1 May.
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